Belt clamp and tightener



W. F. CORNELIUS BELT CLAMP AND TIGHTENER Filed March 18, 1926 Patented Oct. 22, 1929 UNETE STATES ATENT OFFICE BELT CLAMP AND TIGI-ITENER Application filed March 18, 1926.

My invention relates to a belt clamp and tightener and has for its principal object the provision of a relatively simple, practical and eiiicient device that may be advantageously used for clamping and drawing together the ends of power belts and particularly the larger sizes of belts which, by reason of their size and weight, cannot be readily manipulated by hand.

The device embodying the principles of my invention is particularly designed for drawing the ends of a belt together in order that said ends may be securely fastened, and which operations are necessary in the eventthat a break occurs in the belt or when it is necessary to take up slack in said belt.

Further objects of my invention are to gen erally improve upon and simplify the construction of the existing forms of belt clamps and tighteners; to provide adevice ofthe character referred to that maybe easily and quickly applied to a belt and manipulated with little power in order to draw the ends of the belt toward each other; and further, to provide 5 a belt clamp and tightener that is inexpensive of manufacture and which will be very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts that will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a belt clamp and tightener of my improved construction in position for use on a belt.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged cross section taken on the line l l of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the central portion of one of the belt clamping members.

The preferred embodiment of my invention includes a pair of belt clamping members that are identical in construction and each member being formed in two parts, a lower 6o bar 10 and an upper bar 11. The upper sur- Serial No. 95,695.

face of the lower bar 10 is slightly convex in cross section and said surface is formed with a series of longitudinally disposed ribs 12.

Seated in recesses 13 that are formed in the underside of the end portions of the lower bar are the heads of upwardly projecting bolts 14:. Formed integral with one or both ends of each upper bar are outwardly projecting handles such as 15 that are adapted to be manually engaged when the device is applied to a belt in order to hold the belt against its tendency to rotate laterally or sidewise, while the clamping members are being drawn toward each other.

The under face of each upper bar 11 is formed slightly concave in cross section to correspond with the curvature of the upper face of lower bar 10, and formed in the con cave under face of said upper bar is a series of longitudinally disposed ribs 16. When the upper and lower bars are drawn together to clamp an interposed belt, the ribs 12 and 16 tend to bite into the surface of the belt and thereby very firmly grip the same between the clamping bars.

Formed through the end portions of each upper bar 11 are short longitudinally disposed slots 17 through which pass the upper portions of the bolts 14 and arranged on the projecting portions of said bolts are washers 18 and nuts 19. The parts just described provide simple means for very firmly clamping the bars upon a belt.

Formed in the upper portion of each upper bar 11 is a rectangular opening 20 within which is positioned a block 21. One of these blocks is provided with a horizontally disposed aperture 22 having a right hand thread and the other block is provided with a corresponding aperture having a left hand thread. ach block is provided on its sides with outwardly projecting trunnions 23 that are received in recesses 24, the latter being formed in bar 11 to the sides of openings 20 and said trunnions being retained in said openings in any suitable manner, preferably by means of pins 25 that are seated in bar 11 to the sides of said trunnions.

A red or shaft 26 thatis provided with bars in I and 11 together.

right and left hand threaded portions that pass through the respective blocks 21 is provided at its center with a series of ratchet teeth 27 and formed on said shaft between these ratchet teeth and the threaded portions of said shaft are collars 28.

lvlounted to rotate freely upon the toothed portion of the shaft between the collars 28 is a head portion 29 ot' a short tubular handle 30 through which passes a rod 31, the lower end of which is provided with a pawl 82, the point of which is adapted to engage betw en the ratchet teeth 27. interposed between this pawl and a shoulder that is formed within the tubular handle is an expansive coil spring 38. 'The upper portion of rod 31 projects a short distance beyond the upper end of tubu lar handle $0 and said projecting end is threaded and receives a nut Bymanipulating this nut so as to draw rod 31 upwardly through the handle, the pawl 32 may be disengaged from ratchet teeth 2?, and when the position of said pawl has been reversed and the rod lei ered so as to permit the oint of the pawl to re-engage with the rate ietteeth, the handle may be used for rotating'the threaded rod 26 in either direction. f

In taking up the slack i a belt with my improved device, the clamping members 10 and 11 are applied to the belt on opposite sides of the joint therein and said members are clamped to the belt by tightening the nuts 19 on the bolts ll, thus drawing the Tubular handle 30 is now manually engaged and swung through the are of a circle with threaded sh -it 26 an axis and as a result of the enn'ient oi pawl 32- with the ratchet teeth ifth-e threaded shaft 26 is rotated; The en gagement of the right and left hand threads on' sna'ft with the blocks 21 draws the clamping members toward each other and fuently 't'akesu'p the slack in the belt.

'lhe belt fastening means on the ends between "the "pair ofclamping members is removed when the slack has been taken up and a new 'fasteniag made, thereby accomplishing the desired result. p p

The resistance o'iie'red by the belt to the pull of the clamping bars on the ends of said belt tends to rock said bars on the axes formed b'y th-e trunnions'23 of the blocks 21 -and asa result, the ends of the belt that pro- Theope-r'ations incident to the use of my inproved belt clamp and 'tightener when drawing the ends of the broken belt together are practically the some as the operations described in connection with the taking up of slack in a belt.

The slots 1? in the ends of the upper bars of the belt clamping members enable the bolts to be adjusted lengthwise oi the clamping r nbcrs in order to accommodate belts oi? )illts of my improved belt clamp and g donor may be .iade and substituted for ing from the spirit or my invention, cope of which is set forth in the appended claim.

1 claim as my invention: in a belt clamp and tightening device, two pairs of clamp g'bars, each pair comprising a lower member and an upper member, the inner faces oi which members are corrugated gripping engagement with a belt, a handle formed integral with and projecting outwardly from one end of the upper member of each pair for manipulation of the device, the ends of the upper member of each pair bars being provided with longitudinally disposes slots, bolts seated in the ends 025 the lower member of each pair and proecting upwardly through the slots in the n per member, nuts seated on the upper ends oi sa d bolts, a block pivotally mounted on the central portion of the upper member of 'nCll 7 of clamping bars, each block being i c with a threaded aperture, a 'od having right and left hand threaded portions pass respectively through the pivotaliy mounted blocks, a hand lever journaled on the intermediate portion of said threaded rod, and a ratchet and pawl connection between said hand lever and said rod.

In testimony whereo'l I allix my signature.

\VESLEY F. CORNELIUS. 

